Malaysian Exhibitor GSC to Acquire MBO Chain as Cinemas Poised to Reopen

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTencent Music Entertainment Group, part of the massive China-based Tencent media company, and Warner Music have announced an expanded multi-year strategic licensing agreement that will also see the companies collaborating on a new joint venture record label.While Tencent became a 20% owner of Warner competitor Universal Music Group late last year, it and Warner have been working together since their original agreement more than a decade ago. As part of the expanded

Meghan McCain has apologized after John Oliver called her out for saying she had “no problem” with Donald Trump calling COVID-19 the “China virus”… and then tweeting “Stop Asian Hate” a year later. The View co-host wrote March 22 on Twitter, “I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda.”

James Cameron's Avatar again dominated China'sbox office over the weekend, adding $14.1 million to its record as the world's top-grossing film of all time. Over the past 10 days, the 2009 blockbuster has earned $41 million on rerelease, lifting its career total in China to $250.2 million.

Rebecca Davis editorJames Cameron’s “Avatar” once again led the China box office this weekend, with sales of $14 million over the three-day period.The 2009 film has held its own as the top title every day since its March 12 re-release in China. It has grossed a total of $44 million so far, ten days into its re-run.

Refresh for latest…: James Cameron’s Avatar held the top spot at the global and international box office this weekend with $14.1M in China for the Friday-Sunday frame. The 2009 sci-fi epic re-released in the Middle Kingdom last weekend — when it reclaimed the title of all-time highest-grossing movie worldwide from Avengers: Endgame — and now counts an overseas cume of $2,073.2M for $2,833.7M global (all releases included).

inaccurate, Americanized version of one of the most beloved tales in Chinese culture.

Rebecca Davis editorTop Chinese director Feng Xiaogang will step in front of the camera alongside Chinese-American actor-director Joan Chen in a local adaptation of the 2009 Hollywood tearjerker “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale,” which began shooting Thursday.It is currently set to premiere on New Year’s Eve.Feng is best known for his work as a director on films such as “Youth,” “I Am Not Madame Bovary” and “Cellphone,” but he has also frequently taken on acting roles, with his most recent starring role in

Rebecca Davis editorLegendary documentarian Wang Bing is at HAF this year with his new project “I Come from Ikotun,” which follows two Nigerian families with a foothold in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou over the course of the pandemic.Known for his epically long, unflinching works that have previously tackled sensitive issues like China’s brutal re-education camps, Wang will this time turn his lens on a more cross-cultural subject.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese indie sales agency Blossoms Entertainment returns to FilMart with a slate of large-scale commercial pictures sourced from a clutch of China’s biggest film studios.The agency, operated by former IM Global staffers Vicky Ding and Leslie Chen, is pre-selling “Railway Heroes,” a tale of heroism and wartime sabotage which is targeting a National Day release in October.

You know it’s a good week on Real Time when the two stories that have consumed the week’s news — the accusations against Andrew Cuomo and the accusations against the Royal Family — take a backseat to weightier topics such as crony capitalism and the hegemony of China.

Well, that didn’t take too long.

It’s been more than a decade since James Cameron’s “Avatar” arrived in cinemas and basically destroyed nearly every record along the way. For months, the film was a must-see event that drove legions of people to theaters to sport 3D glasses and watch blue aliens fight for their planet.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s top law-making body will consider this week a popular proposition to ban actors who have used drugs from entertainment industry for life at its annual weeklong meeting, which kicked off Friday.The National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber stamp parliament, counts some 3,000 professionals from across the country as delegates, including directors Jia Zhangke, Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige, as well as Jackie Chan and Yao Ming.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefImax China, the supplier of giant screen cinema facilities and services in Greater China, is one of the purest plays on the mainland Chinese movie exhibition market available to investors.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThree years after the first movie theater reopened in Saudi Arabia – following removal of a religion-related ban – the kingdom has become the top theatrical market in the Middle East and is turning into a major driver for Arabic film production.“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press conference on March 3 to address the mounting sexual harassment allegations against him, apologizing to his female accusers for ‘any pain I have caused.’ The governor said he was ’embarrassed’ by the allegations, and denied he ever “touched anyone inappropriately.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe end came quietly with the humdrum announcement of a deal between two state-owned TV groups, China Central Television (CCTV) and South Korean public broadcaster KBS.

Exactly one year ago, Chinese film buyers were almost entirely absent from Berlin's European Film Market as broad swaths of the world's second-biggest economy remained in a state of total shutdown. Business in the U.S.

Pierre Morel’s upcoming action thrillerThe Blacksmith, which recently lost its star Nick Jonas due to a scheduling conflict, has a deal in place for the important China market. Beijing-based distributor Infotainment China Media picked up rights to the film ahead of Berlin's European Film Market and plans to stick with the project despite the casting change-up.